


wrinkle in time

by Dragonetgirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, SHIDGE, Time Travel, black holes and gravity sinks, guess you can call it shidge, messed up time distortion, pidge goes a little mad, pidge has a hard time ajusting to normalacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-17 06:17:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9309140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonetgirl/pseuds/Dragonetgirl
Summary: after being flung from the corrupted wormhole, Pidge finds herself alone, on a dead planet. With her lion silent and damaged.It will be a long time before Pidge sees her friends, and will she stay the same as they remember her? Or will her time apart have changed her.





	1. day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this way back in august, when the whole age issue started really kicking off.  
> I was more than a little salty at the fandom, but hey, it gave me a cool idea to wok with.

Pidge couldn't see anything, lightning flashed and the controls in her lion did not respond. They were tossed about like ragdolls in a washing machine, through the purple void of the wormhole.  
The green lion was spat out of the wormhole and Pidge tried to regain control. The screens light up but the spinning views made her feel sick to her stomach.

Day 0  
When the green lion crashed into the planet's surface the force of the impact threw Pidge out of her seat and she cracked her head painfully against a wall. 

She had one last glimpse of dirt and bright screens flickering, before pain shot up her leg and her vision turned black.

Day 1  
Pidge, when she awoke, found that she was alone. The lion was dead, completely unresponsive and showed no sign of life. Save for one small green bulb, that glowed softly on the control panel.  
Pidge could barely move. With some effort, she pulled her dented helmet off and set it down only to watch it roll away before she could grab it. Sparks flickered behind her eyes and her head swam with pain. Her ribs felt bruised but thankfully not broken. Her right ankle however screamed in pain when she tried to put weight on it. She resorted to crawling across the sloped floor to the control panel, her helmet lost in the mess of wires and debris that littered the cockpit.  
Reaching the panel, she touched the single glowing light. The only sign of life.

She tried the communications panel.

‘hello? Allura? Shiro? Anyone!?’  
there was silence, not even a fizzing of static. Just heavy silence.  
Pidge rested her head on her arms. Draped over the consol. Her head hurt so much.

Day 2  
Pidge searched the lion and found the emergency rations and med kit. The meds helped dull the pain in her head but did little to numb the pain in her ankle. She reasoned that the rations would last her a good few weeks if she was careful, water however would be a problem. The crash had done something to the water supply and there was barely a week's amount left.

Day 4  
Pidge left the lion, forcing the hatch open and dropping down to the planet's surface. Her jetpack had thankfully not been damaged. When her feet touched down her ankle twisted under her and she face planted into the dusty ground.  
Spitting out dirt she glanced around at her surroundings.  
The lion had dug a deep gouge through the earth, the sides of the furrow looked too high and steep for Pidge to climb in her current state. She slowly got to her feet and with agonised limping steps began to search for water near her lion.

Day 8  
She had run out of water. She sucked the last drops she could from a damp cloth and started to worry. There had been no sign of water near her. Not even a sign of plant life. She hadn't managed to climb out of the path the lion had made yet, but now she had no choice.

Day 9  
She found water. Or rather fell into it. She had climbed out of the furrow and hobbled for what felt like hours, her ankle twinging painfully. The heat of the sun had made her light headed and she hadn't been watching her feet. The sudden lack of floor had startled her and the cool smack of water had shocked her. But she finally had water, and she didn't care about how her clothes were caked in mud and sweat.  
She took a long drink from the water and felt like crying. It was so clear, cool, and fresh.

Week 2  
With water on hand nearby she began to fix the lion as best she could. The little green light remained on, but nothing else changed

Month 1  
Pidge had begun to wonder about the other paladins, hoping they made it out safely.

Month 3  
Panic sets in.  
Finds roots to eat and some bugs that don't taste too bad.

Month 6  
She blames the others for not finding her.

Month 8  
Maybe they all died in the wormhole?

Month 9  
Where were they, why were they taking so long. Was her lion so badly damaged that it couldn’t send out a distress call?

Month 10  
Repairs were hampered by sandstorm that raged for weeks, her gathered food supplies dwindled dangerously.

Year 1  
That rock looks like Keith…

Y1 m6  
She has a whole collection of rocks now. Each of her friends, she speaks to them daily.

 

Year 2  
The lion’s lights flickered briefly but nothing lasted. The green light glows brighter

Year 3  
The planet is a hell hole with no life except the bugs, and the steadily glowing green light, and sporadic bursts of power.  
Now and then she hears her lion growl in her head.  
It’s a comfort in her isolation.

Year 4  
Pidge stood on the lion’s head staring into the softly glowing yellow eyes. The green lion was finally awake.


	2. all these years...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is reunited.

The familiar castle came into view, it glittered in the starlight as it silently cruised round an asteroid field. Pidge sucked in a breath, it had been so long.

A lump began to form in her throat, what would the others think when they saw her… how would they react?

She didn’t know that only a few months had passed for them, space gravity and wormholes had shortened time for them. while she had experienced the whole 4 Years stranded on a planet before spending months hopping from planet to planet, trying to find her way back to the castle. The wormhole that initially worked for the blue lion didn’t work for the green, the planet she had been stranded on had damaged the lion somehow and even now it was still recovering all its systems.

Pidge took a deep breath and opened a com channel.

‘Hey ...err princess Allura? Its Pidge, can I come aboard?’

There was a moment of silence, in which a hundred scenarios shot through her head, each more terrifying than the last, then.

‘PIDGE? Where have you been! I've been searching the universe for you! What happened? Are you ok? Are you hurt?! What...’

‘Princess I'm ok, don’t worry. But can I come inside?’

‘Oh yes of course! Coran open the hanger!’

‘Pidge! Good to hear from you! I was beginning to suspect that Zarcon had gotten you!

Pidge grimaced at that.

‘Opening hanger door now, we will meet you once you land!’

‘See you on the ground’ Pidge said and closed the com. Her hands were shaking as she steered the lion into the hanger. She didn’t know why she was so nervous, she was just meeting up with her team… her family of sorts.

She landed and climbed out of her lion. As soon as her feet hit the ground she was enveloped in a huge bone crushing hug.

‘Pidge! Oh my goodness I was so worried! What happened to you man? You were gone for so long! Nobody here could help with the repairs, Coran kept trying to force food on us even though I told him I could do better! Oh sorry,’ Hunk let go of Pidge as she started thumping on his arm and squirming for air.

She stumbled back a few steps after being released and bumped into Lance, ‘Hey Pidge glad you decided to finally re-join us!’

Pidge smiled under her helmet, Lance was the same as ever. Wait. the same…

Keith joined the group and placed a hand on her shoulder ‘good to have you back’ was all he said, but he was smiling.

Pidge glanced round at them, noticing for the first time that they all looked the same… the same as the day they all went to fight Zarcon and get Allura back… they hadn't changed at all. She had expected maybe a little difference... but there was nothing.

‘Pidge?’  
She turned at the sound of her name. Shiro stood a few steps behind everyone, looking at her oddly.  
‘You’re... taller.’

Pidge dropped her head the visor hiding her expression.  
‘huh what are you talking about Shiro? She's the same short, green...’ Lance stopped and looked closer, ‘hey Shiro's right. You are taller!’ he looked even closer ‘and is it just me or are you filling out that armour a little more than usual…’  
Pidge shot him a withering look from under her visor.

‘You didn’t eat anything weird did you?’ Hunk asked, ‘I ate some plant thing once and hoo boy that things did something weird to my innards.’

‘Guys, I'm fine really… but I'm surprised you haven’t changed at all,’ Pidge said, looking around at the boys in front of her.

‘What do you mean changed,’ Keith asked looking bemused, ‘You weren't gone that long. Right?’  
Pidge just looked at him.

Where they really that clueless?  
She had endured years alone and they acted like it was nothing, like it had only been a few days?!  
Pidge felt an anger building up, writhing in her chest. 

‘I was gone long enough!’  
She gripped her helmet and pulled it off. The hair she had wound up to keep tucked inside spilled out over her shoulders and down her back.   
It was longer now, longer than the time she had cut it off all those years ago, to infiltrate the garrison.

The sight of her hair shocked them all. In the silence that followed all she could hear was her own heartbeat and the gentle thrum of the ship's engines.

‘How ... how long has it been for you?’ Shiro asked in a quiet voice.

‘It’s ... been a while. I think. I lost track.’ Pidge gripped her helmet in her hands, wishing the uncomfortable silence would be broken.

‘Pidge!!’   
All the paladins glanced up to see Allura running towards them the mice gripping to the sleeve of her dress with determination, not wanting to left behind. She launched herself at Pidge and enveloped her in a hug before she could protest.

‘Oh, Pidge it's so good to have you back, you won't believe how hard it's been to find you! And I was… wait...’ Allura held the green paladin at arms length and looked her over, ‘you’ve grown! And your hair! What happened?’

Pidge looked down at the floor as the mice ran along alluras arm and began to play in her own hair.

‘I think… I think I was lost for a long time... it's been years…’

‘Oh! Oh, Pidge I’m so sorry.’ Allura griped Pidges hand in hers and stared at the green paladin, knowing only a little of the pain Pidge must be going through.

‘Wait a minute. Hold up. How can it be years? It's only been a few months!’ Lance was looking confused, trying to do calculations on his hands with little success. Keith and Shiro shared similar expressions of shock, while Hunk looked like he was deep in thought.

Coran joined the group and saw their expressions.

‘What's happened here? You would think that you had all just seen a yellmor dancing to an orchestra!’

‘Coran… I think Pidge has been looking for us for a few years,’ Allura said as explanation.

‘Oh well that would explain the sudden hair extension.’

‘CORAN!’ Allura snapped looking at her old friend, ‘how can this this have happened?’

This question was only met with more silence.

It was Hunk that spoke up eventually. ‘I think it might have something to do with the worm hole being corrupted. Also, the planets we were thrown onto and the black hole.’ Pidge didn’t know what he was talking about but Coran was nodding his head.

‘We could have been stuck in the wormhole for a while but stuck in time too. And the gravity of the planets you were on would have altered your perception of time, as would the black hole… hum, Pidge? You would have kept a record of the time you were away, would you?’

Pidge swallowed, not wanting to remember the first time she had crawled out of the lion on that dead planet.

‘I did… but not for long…’  
‘Hum I think we can hook up the green lion’s charts with the castle and compare the locations and star movement and overlay them all and we should get an accurate timeline.’ Coran began bustling about the hanger pulling wires from wall compartments and fiddling with the lion.

‘Come on Pidge, let's get you inside’ Allura guided her towards the door. ‘I think some rest would help you right now.’

Pidge glanced once over her shoulder at the rest of the paladins. Her team, her… family.

They watched her go with the princess, not really knowing how to react, Pidge was back but she had changed, she hadn’t been jumping with joy at seeing them as they had expected, nor had she excitedly told them of her adventures, she had been quiet, withdrawn, angry and almost cold.

They didn't know how to act around this new Pidge.

\--------

Pidge looked round her old room, she hadn’t been in it much when she had been on the ship, often falling asleep in the hidden unused corridors. Her old laptop was still there, sitting on the bed. Pidge sat down and held the laptop close. Then she noticed her bag. In her rush, she nearly dropped the laptop. She pulled the bag up and unzipped it, and began digging through the contents.

Her fingers brushed a thin strip of laminated paper and she gripped it, yanking it out into the light.

The face of her brother smiled up at her, and a younger more carefree Pidge grinned at the camera.

Tears crept into her eyes as she held the photo. She had almost forgotten what her brother’s face looked like.

‘Pidge? Can I come in?’  
Pidges head jerked up and she shoved the photo back into her bag.  
‘Yes?’

The door opened and Shiro walked in, he didn’t comment on her red eyes or the way she clutched the bag to her chest. But he couldn’t keep the worry out of his eyes.

‘Coran found some data in you lion… thought I should tell you… you, we, have been gone for just over 4 years,’ Shiro said hesitantly. ‘We think that you experienced all the years while the rest of us didn’t. After being stuck in the wormhole and the gravity planets and black holes... we didn’t have the same time passing for us.’

Pidge just stared at him. The stare made him uncomfortable.

‘My family… have been prisoners for over 5 years now…’ she sucked in a breath ‘I don’t even know if they are still alive!’ the tears she had been holding back finally spilled down her cheeks, ‘they… they could be dead now… I will never find them.’

Her head fell into her hands and she wept.

Shiro didn’t know what to do, the last time he had seen her like this it was tears of relief he had had to deal with. The Pidge now in front of him sobbing into her hands was a different person almost entirely.

He sat down on her bed and gently rubbed her back in small circles.

‘You don’t know that for certain Pidge. We won't stop looking.’  
Pidge turned and clutched Shiro's shirt, burying her face in it still sobbing, he gingerly put his arms round her and just held her, he didn’t say anything more.

After a while her sobbing stopped but she kept her grip on his shirt, as if afraid that letting go of it would mean losing her grip on reality, the one thing that was keeping her grounded.

‘You will be ok Pidge’ Shiro whispered, stroking her hair. It was so long now it reached halfway down her back.

Pidge hiccupped in response, but her hands slowly began to relax their vice like grip on his shirt. When she pulled away her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks were still damp.

‘Thanks… thank you for just being there. it's been so long I forgot… what it's like to have others there for you…’

‘Any time Pidge, I will always be here for you,’ he said, and wrapped her up in a hug.


	3. nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge cant sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok did not expect this to get as much attention as it did.... thank you all! I love reading the comments! i hadn't planned initially on doing much writing on this, but what the hell its a good bit of angst and i need to practice writing it.

Pidge wandered through the castle ships halls, a blanket wrapped round her shoulders and the end just trailing along behind her, hearing the low quiet hum of energy drifting through the deserted corridors. Everything seems so unchanged.

Pidge had slept badly on her first night back, Shiro had stayed with her until she had calmed down and had told her to get some sleep. The idea of sleeping in a soft bed had been very appealing to her after years of cold hard surfaces but she had found it wasn't as easy as she thought to just switch off. After years of nervous anxious nights, she just couldn't sleep.

Eventually she had given up and thrown on some clean clothes, something she was incredibly grateful for, and made her way to the green lion’s hanger. She didn't meet anyone on the way and soon found herself looking up at the giant robotic lion.

‘Hey girl. I couldn't sleep.’

Something brushed the edge of her consciousness and a low rumbling purr sounded in the hanger. Pidge smiled up at the lion, who had been a silent companion for all those years.

‘I will see if there's anything I can do for you girl.’

She wrapped the blanket tighter round herself and sat down by the array of screens and cables that Coran had set up the previous day to run diagnostics. She scanned the screens but saw little that she could do right now. She looked over her shoulder up at her lion.

‘Looks like you're on the mend girl.’  
A rumble drifted through her head, tinged with concern.

‘I'm ok… just can't sleep.’  
Another rumble in the shape of a suggestion and the robot shifted to rest its chin on the floor between its paws.

Pidge walked over and saw the lions meaning.  
‘Heh ok, didn't know you could be this pushy.’

Pidge sat down in the space between the paw and her lions huge head. After making sure her glasses were safe in her pocket she curled up on the floor. The space was small but she immediately felt safe. She snuggled into the blanket and closed her eyes. Last thing she remembered was the contented purring of her lion enveloping her, like an extra blanket.

\--

Her dreams were not peaceful. She had thought that being back in the safety of the castle would have helped, but the dreams had taken on a different tone. Zarkon’s shadowy form prowled through her dreams, searching for her as she hid in ever lengthening corridors. It grew harder and harder to hide until eventually...

'Found you!’

Pidge shot upright in a sleep blurred panic, the blanket had become twisted round her as she slept and was pinning one of her arms and legs. She kicked and struggled before someone yanked the blanket, and her away from the little alcove formed by her lion's head and paws. 

Someone was pulling the blanket away from her, freeing her limbs. Still half asleep she screamed and kicked out, feeling her foot connect and someone yelp in pain.

‘Pidge knock it off!’

‘Lance?’

‘Who else would it be.’ Lance grumbled rubbing his hip where she had kicked him.

Pidge took a deep breath to calm down, and fumbled in her pockets to find her glasses, thankfully non-crushed.  
‘Sorry. I was having a dream and you startled me.’ she pushed her glasses up her nose and tried to look sympathetic. 

Lance frowned, ‘Must have been some dream to make you kick me that hard, what are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have your own bed?’   
Pidge looked away, 'I couldn't sleep.’

Lance didn't seem satisfied with that response, but he shrugged and offered a hand, ‘Hunk’s making breakfast, Shiro went to get you but found your room empty so we organised a find the Pidge search party. I obviously won.’

'Congratulations Lance,’ mumbled Pidge as she stood up. She kept the blanket wrapped round her shoulders.

‘What, that's it? ‘

Pidge frowned at him

‘Ok never mind. By the way you get killer bed hair.’

Pidges hand brushed through her hair. It caught on a mess of tangles and snarls.

‘If you're up for it later I can give you a hand with it?’

Pidge blinked. ‘What can you do Lance? You going to go all Rapunzel on me?’

Lance snorted and grinned. ‘That's more like the  
Pidge I know! Nah I've got some things that can help that bird's nest you call hair.’

Pidge considered it. Maybe some me time (well Lance time too) might be a good thing for her.  
‘Ok.’  
‘Really? Awesome! Meet me after breakfast, I will tame that hair beast of yours!’  
Pidge smiled and they made their way to the mess hall. Some things will never change she thought, and that's not always bad.

-

They joined the others in the mess hall, Lance had called ahead on the cons to let them know he had found her.

Pidge sat at the table and looked at the green food goo. Hunk had offered to cook her some of the stuff he had picked up from another planet but Coran had shot him down, saying Pidge needed to adjust to the ship's bland goo before they give her any fancy culinary cooking.

Pidge poked at the goo and sporked up a small mouthful.  
It was as bland as she remembered, almost like mashed potatoes, except for the green colour. She gulped down the mouthful and stirred the rest on her plate.

Shiro looked up, noticed her still full plate and frowned.  
'Something wrong Pidge? You have barely touched your food goo.’  
‘Just not used to it, the bugs were crunchy.’  
There was an audible gasp from across the table as Hunk and Lance gaped at her.

‘You were eating bugs?!’ sputtered Lance.

‘There wasn't much choice after the food rations ran out’ muttered Pidge, stabbing at the goo in her plate.

'So, you went all Simba on the natives,’ laughed Lance.

Pidge felt her anger flare up, she slammed her spork down.  
'The first time I met a native was when it dragged me out of my lion's mouth and tried to eat me! They were bugs and that's all they were. Being edible was the only plus they had.’

The shocked looks of all the paladins round the table made her feel bad. They would have done the same in her position, right? Tried to survive anyway they could.

She looked over at Shiro, he of all people must know what it's like to do anything to survive.  
He was looking at Pidge with a mixture of emotions she couldn't quite place. Pity, pride, and concern.

'I’ve had enough goo, thanks Coran.’  
Pidge pushed the plate away from her and got up to leave. 

'Pidge! What about me helping with your hair?’ cried a devastated Lance.  
Pidge had almost forgotten about that. 'maybe another time Lance. Coran, where can I find Allura?’

‘She should be on the bridge, said she had some charts to go over.’ Coran said.

Pidge mumbled a thanks and left the room. Leaving the paladins wondering if they should have said something.

Shiro knew what it was like to survive and he also knew how taxing it could be. Pidge had endured four years of it. If she did not get help soon, the weight of those years would crush her.


End file.
